- USDTHB: moving in the range 36.27-36.48 this morning supportive level at 36.20 resistance level at 36.50
· SET Index: 1,387.6 (+1.05%), 21 Mar 2024
· S&P 500 Index: 5,241.5 (+0.32%), 21 Mar 2024
· Thai 10-year government bond yield (interpolated): 2.54 (-0.89 bps), 21 Mar 2024
· US 10-year treasury yield: 4.27 (+0.00 bps), 21 Mar 2024
- US business activity stable in March; inflation picks up
- Euro zone business activity close to stabilizing in March, PMI survey shows
- Japan CPI rises as expected in Feb, stays well above BOJ target
- Dollar gains on risk sentiment, Swiss franc falls on surprise rate cut
US business activity stable in March; inflation picks up US business activity held steady in March, but prices increased across the board, suggesting that inflation could remain elevated after picking up at the start of the year. S&P Global said on Thursday that its flash US Composite PMI Output Index, which tracks the manufacturing and services sectors, dipped to 52.2 this month from 52.5 in February. A reading above 50 indicates expansion in the private sector. The modest slowdown reflected a further cooling in services sector activity. Manufacturing climbed to a 21-month high. The survey suggested that the economy ended the first quarter on solid ground, though the pace of growth probably slowed from the October-December quarter's 3.2% annualized rate. The United States continues to outperform its global peers, despite 525 basis points worth of interest rate hikes from the Federal Reserve since March 2022 to quell inflation.
Euro zone business activity close to stabilizing in March, PMI survey shows Euro zone business activity was within a whisker of returning to growth in March, outperforming expectations, according to a survey which showed inflationary pressures bucked a recent trend and eased this month. However, the recovery was uneven with a strong rebound in services activity offsetting a more severe downturn in manufacturing. There was a similar divide between the bloc's two biggest economies, Germany and France. HCOB's preliminary composite Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI), compiled by S&P Global, rose to 49.9 this month from February's 49.2, ahead of expectations in a Reuters poll for 49.7 but marking its tenth month below the 50-level separating growth from contraction. Germany's economic downturn eased slightly in March as business activity in the service sector of Europe's largest economy came close to stabilizing, earlier data showed.
Japan CPI rises as expected in Feb, stays well above BOJ target Japan consumer price index (CPI) inflation rose as expected in February, rising well above the Bank of Japan’s annual target rate and giving more credence to the central bank’s recent policy shift. Core CPI inflation, which excludes volatile fresh food prices, grew an annualized 2.8% in Feb, official data showed on Friday. The reading was in line with expectations and picked up sharply from the 2% seen in the prior month- where it had fallen to the BOJ's 2% annual target for the first time since early-2022. A core CPI reading that excludes both fresh food and energy prices, and is seen as a key indicator of underlying inflation by the BOJ, rose 3.2% in Feb, easing from the 3.5% seen in the prior month and coming further away from 40-year highs hit in 2023. Headline CPI inflation rose 2.8% from the 2.2% seen in the prior month.
Dollar gains on risk sentiment, Swiss franc falls on surprise rate cut The 10-year government bond yield (interpolated) on the previous trading day was 2.54, -0.89 bps. The benchmark government bond yield (LB31DA) was 2.55, -1.00 bps. Meantime, the latest closed US 10-year bond yields was 4.27, +0.00 bps. USDTHB on the previous trading day closed around 35.96. Moving in a range of 36.27-36.48 this morning. USDTHB could be closed between 36.20-36.50 today. The dollar rose after the Swiss National Bank's surprise interest rate cut bolstered global risk sentiment and underscored the appeal of the greenback amid strong US economic growth. But after the Federal Reserve projected a less restrictive policy stance than expected, risk assets worldwide soared, as did the outlook for investment flows to the US The SNB's loosening of monetary policy suggests inflation is under control and other central banks will soon make their policies more accommodative, which has boosted the dollar
Sources : ttb analytics , Bloomberg, CNBC, Trading economics, Investing, CEIC
